GSC – What an exciting week this was!
By Marco Nannini / Global Solo Challenge The grand departure of October 29 saw 7 skippers set off from A Coruna to join those who had left in the prior weeks taking the total of boats at sea to 14. It was…
Offshore
News, race results plus editorial coverage from the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Vendée Globe, The Ocean Race, ARC, Fastnet, Transpac, Ocean Globe Race, Global Solo Challenge and Offshore Yachting from around the world.
ULTIM leaders match racing up the Atlantic on leg to Martinique
Proving how closely matched and how much the top ULTIM multihulls have progressed over the last few months, after nearly 4,500 miles and ten days of racing the leading duo on the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre double handed…
IMOCA leaders ponder their choices after great start
After a spectacular start at 0930hrs local time off Le Havre this morning the IMOCA fleet on the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre made the most of the outgoing tide to boost them on the their way out…
Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre IMOCA fleet off and flying
After an impressive start from Le Havre OT 0830HRS utc this morning (Tuesday) in SW’ly winds of 20-25kts, the IMOCA fleet on the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre double handed race to Martinique were making great speeds westwards…
Class40 and Ocean Fifty back in full race mode after Lorient return to race course
Some eight days after the initial start from Le Havre a week past Sunday, 46 duos aboard their Class40 and Ocean Fifty multihiulls returned to the Transat Jacques Vabre race course from Lorient this Monday morning heading for Martinique. The…
Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race 2025
Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) together with the Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC) invite competitors to participate in the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race 2025. A dramatic and compelling ocean (and we mean ‘ocean’) race course has been shoe-horned…
Historic Scenes at Start of Leg 2 Ocean Globe Race
Naval Ships, Tears, Nerves, and Iconic Yachts in Cape Town Sailing history was made in Cape Town under the stunning vista of Table Mountain as the iconic yachts starting Leg 2 in the OGR set sail for Auckland. South African…
2024 RORC Transatlantic Race – 24 Teams and Counting
Calero Marinas – Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife, Canary Islands to Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 10th anniversary edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race will start from Lanzarote on the 7th January 2024. Supported by…
Classic sunshine start for the largest-ever ARC+ fleet
11th Edition of ARC+ sets sail from Gran Canaria The ‘ARC season’ began today when 95 yachts departed Las Palmas de Gran Canaria bound for Cape Verde on leg 1 of the ARC+ transatlantic rally. This is a record-breaking fleet…
Patriot pulls out all stops to win Melbourne to Devonport Rudder Cup
Patriot, Jason Close’s J/133 has won the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 195 nautical mile Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race for the Rudder Cup in which ’J’ boats were successful across the board. The 195 nautical mile race, which started off…
For the IMOCAs a big start is on the cards for Tuesday morning
Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le HavreRacing resumes with a restart Monday for the Class40 and Ocean Fifty. Following the passage of storms Ciaran and Domingos, at the start of next week a suitable weather window is set to open which…
Banque Populaire XI in charge in the trade winds
After passing Madeira, out of a high pressure ridge and speeding up in the Trade Winds yesterday, the five ULTIMS on the Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre to Martinique are now into good weather with pleasant seas. The…
TJV – No start before Monday for any class including the IMOCAs
All of the docked 90 boats fleet of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre have been kept safe and secure through last night’s Storm Ciarán which ravaged the Brittany coast and the English Channel. Meteo France say they recorded gusts of…
Global Solo Challenge – Update from the Ocean
By Margherita Pelaschier / Global Solo Challenge As the storm Ciaran hit the coast of Brittany last night with winds reaching 55-70 knots and red alerts in various French ports, the fleet of seven vessels from the Global Solo Challenge that left…
Sunday still being looked at for IMOCAs
Nothing before Monday for the Class40 and Ocean Fifty boats At a press meeting this lunchtime (wednesday), Francis Le Goff, the Race Director and Gildas Gautier, co-director of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre, ran through the various scenarios…
Hall swaps two-handed racing for exciting new project with youth sailors
Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth was launched in time for Jules Hall to contest the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart – in two-handed mode with Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten – the pair making a name for themselves and the boat early on, but this…
SVR Lazartigue leading the ULTIMs towards Porto Santo mark
On the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre as the final Class40 skippers are reaching Lorient, the ULTIMs are continuing to make rapid headway south and this morning were at the latitude of Lisbon. An amendment made by the…
GSC – Ladies and gentlemen the show is on!
By Margherita Pelaschier / Global Solo Challenge At noon on Sunday, October 29th, the creator and organizer of the Global Solo Challenge, Marco Nannini announced on the skippers’ chat: “Ladies and gentlemen, the show is on!” wishing good winds to the seven…
Ultims bound for Cape Finisterre
Monday 30 october, 2023 – Gitana Team At 12:05 UTC yesterday, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and her adversaries were the first to take the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre – Normandie Le Havre. In a SSW’ly wind of…
The 40 IMOCAs are put in a safe mode at the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre docks
Storm Ciaran is set to sweep across the north-west quarter of France, during Wednesday night. It is this huge system which has required the 40 strong IMOCA fleet that was set to start the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre…
Three classes enjoy great start and IMOCAs remain in port
Strong, gusty winds and choppy seas made for a spectacular start to the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre for three of the four race fleets today. While the ULTIM, Ocean Fifty and Class 40 races…
Hobart 2023 entries close with 120 teams
Entries for the 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race closed on Friday and the lineup of 120 boats is one of the most open and diverse fleets in years. The 628nm classic which starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 December,…
Record breaking Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre fleet due a strong winds start Sunday
A record breaking fleet of 95 boats which is set to start the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre double handed race from Le Havre to Martinique is set to encounter very robust conditions as they…
44th Edition of Rolex Middle Sea Race Draws to a Close
As per tradition, the closing act of this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race was the final prize giving held in the historic 16th century Sacra Infermeria. Originally built as a hospital by the Knights of St John and overlooking Grand…
The Ocean Race link up with Team Nexans – Art et Fenêtres (II) to support ocean science during TJV
The Ocean Race is supporting Team Nexans – Art et Fenêtres (II) in the collection of vital ocean data during the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), which sets sail this weekend from Le Havre, Normandy. Following The Ocean Race 2022-23, in which over…
The Grand Departure of the GSC – seven skippers taking up the challenge
By Margherita Pelaschier / Global Solo Challenge The atmosphere is electric on the eve of the most crowded departure, with seven skippers at the next start of the Global Solo Challenge. The pouring rain and the wind that have dominated in…
Six Down, Eight to Go in OGR
Showers and Beers Top of List for L’Esprit d’équipe and Outlaw in McIntyre Ocean Globe in Cape Town After 45 days of sailing, the former Whitbread winner L’Esprit d’équipe FR (85) skippered by Lionel Regnier, has claimed 5th in line…
Rolex Middle Sea Race – Bullitt Strikes Unexpected Target
The 2023 Rolex Middle Sea Race record will show that Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt put in a phenomenal performance around the 606nm racetrack, taking the fight to monohull line honours winner Leopard 3 on the water, while staving off…
Updates from the 7 skippers at sea in the GSC
By Margherita Pelaschier / Global Solo Challenge While eight competitors prepare to set sail from A Coruna on October 28th, the seven sailors at sea are making great strides on the route of their dreams, with a few minor setbacks…
Middle Sea Race Overall Winner Announced
At 2100 CEST on Wednesday, 25 October, the winner of the 44th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race was announced as the Italian Wally 93 Bullitt, skippered by Andrea Recordati. The announcement was made shortly after the double-handed entry…
Fixed priorities for proud Briton Pip Hare on upcoming Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre
British solo skipper Pip Hare had a pretty solid 2022 season, her first with her new fully foiling, recent generation Medallia, finishing 13th in the solo Vendée Arctic race and 12th in the solo Route du Rhum. Since then she…
Leopard Dodges the Bullitt in Monohull Line Honours
If yesterday’s story of the 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race was the first multihull to finish, today’s is definitely monohull line honours. At 0152 CEST this morning, the fascinating race-long duel between the Farr 100 Leopard 3 and the Wally…
New boats to face tried and true in Melbourne to Devonport Rudder Cup
Over 30 boats are entered in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 195 nautical mile Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race, otherwise known as the Rudder Cup, due to start on Friday 4 November at 6pm off Queenscliff in Victoria. The Rudder…
Three more GSC skippers take to the sea
By Margherita Pelaschier / Global Solo Challenge On Saturday, October 21, three more solo sailors began their adventure in the Global Solo Challenge: William MacBrien, a Canadian skipper, on the Class40 Phoenix (formerly SecHayai); Pavlin Nadvorni, a Bulgarian skipper, on…
Rolex Middle Sea Provides Huge Step Forward for The Famous Project
The 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race has welcomed its first finisher, as the MOD70 Limosa, skippered by Alexia Barrier, rolled over the line at 1310 CEST on Monday afternoon. Taking multihull line honours for the second year in a row…
Sixty Knot Gusts – Tears – OGR Champagne and Seal Lion Attacks
Dateline: Tuesday, 21/10/2023 A busy 24 hours in Cape Town as Pen Duick VI, Translated 9 and Maiden finish Leg One of McIntyre Ocean Globe Race It was a frantic 24 hours in the V&A Waterfront Marina, Cape Town, with…
Normandie Le Havre race village officially opened
The Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre race village was officially opened Saturday 21st October by the mayor of Le Havre Edouard Philippe and with that the pre-start week of festivities kicked off. The weather may not have been too…
Classic Rolex Middle Sea Race Unfolding
The 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race is now over 24 hours old, and the picture is starting to develop. The fleet has spread out over the course, with the front-running multihull well on the way to Favignana and the slowest…
Ocean Globe Race – The Finns Triumph In Cape Town!
Dateline: Tuesday, 20/10/2023 Spirit of Helsinki First Across the Line in Leg One of McIntyre Ocean Globe Race There were emotional scenes as Spirit of Helsinki FI (71) crossed the finish line of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race taking line honours for leg one….
Clean Start Heralds Next Chapter in Rolex Middle Sea Race
The 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race fleet was sent on its way today. The start of a 606 nautical mile adventure around Sicily and back to the finish in Malta. 110 yachts representing 26 nations crossed the start line, their…
